In my humble opinion...and as a matter of fact you can quote me....
Just because a RV is called "high end", or comes with the huge inflated price tag. has full body paint and name tags like "Platinum Edition" or the RV Company says "we are the best made"...it's only really smoke, mirrors and more special effects than a George Lucas movie!
You have to become somewhat of a cynic, a detective and/or do a LOT of research. Buying a new car or truck is easy in comparison! You can read Consumer Reports ratings. Or Car/Truck Magazines.
But you can't trust RV Magazines and other RV Sources (except RV.Net Members!)...they accept RV manufacturers advertising dollars. Biased! Same with so called RV Review websites.
Everyone is biased in that what they have is the perfect RV! Almost always. I like Jayco, for example..and admit it. But if I know of something closer to waht you want I'll tell you.
There is a organization called RVDA (Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association) and they publish report around this time every year for 20 years called the "Dealer Satisfaction Index". This is a survey of dealers asking how happy are they with the Manufacturers of the RV Brands that they carry and sell...
RVDAOf course RVDA is may be somewhat supported by the Dealers they survey. After all, the Dealers benefit from the surveys too.
The towable RV manufacturers/brands receiving awards are (in alphabetical order by manufacturer)...these brands received a score of 80% or more in the survey.
*Airstream Inc. Around since 1929...but now owned by Thor.
*Coachmen RV (Clipper/Viking travel trailers)
*Forest River Inc. (Palomino travel trailers and fifth-wheels, Rockwood/Roo expandables, Sierra/Sandpiper)
*Grand Design RV Co. (Solitude)
*Heartland RV LLC. (Big Country/Elk Ridge, Bighorn/Landmark, Cyclone/Road Warrior/Torque, Gateway, North Trail/Wilderness, Prowler, Sundance, Trail Runner/Fairfield)
*Jayco Inc. (Camping Trailers, Eagle/Eagle Premier/HT, Jay Feather, Jay Flight/Swift/SLX/DST/Bungalow, Pinnacle, White Hawk) Same family owners since 1967...45 years!
*Keystone RV Co. (Cougar/X-lite, Hornet/Hideout/Energy, Laredo, Montana/Big Sky/High Country/Mountaineer, Outback/Sydney, Raptor, Sprinter/Copper Canyon)
*KZ RV.(Sportsmen & Classic, Spree/Spree Escape) 41 years in business.
*Lance Camper Manufacturing Corp. (travel trailers and truck campers)
*Open Range RV Co. and Prime Time Manufacturing Inc. (Avenger, LaCrosse/Tracer, Crusader/Sanibel).
Is this survey a good indicator that a RV Company gets good warranty service support and prompt payment by the RV Manufacturer for warranty services performed on an Owners RV? Yes.
Does this mean the dealer is going to try serving their customers faster and better? Likely.
The answers to catagories from RV Dealers are kept confidential from the RV Manufacturers, so are fairly accurite expressions from the Dealers regarding the Manufacturers.
The Dealers are asked about...
• Sales support-Advertising, brochures, etc.
• Sales territory-You don't want another dealer selling the same brand across the street.
• Vehicle design-older designs tend to sit on their lots longer.
• Vehicle reliability/quality-A RV's reputation travels by word of mouth!
• Competitive price/value-Selling a 2 million dollar RV that may not aappeal to a working class neighborhood.
• Parts support-You order a new door and it's back ordered 2 months.
• Dealership warranty support-Important! The dealer may have to go to bat for you to get something fixed!
• Overall dealer communications-Ideally the dealer is a good communicator, two way conversations.
About 500 RV dealers responded to the survey on 2500 brands. (An average of 5 brands per dealership responding). At least it gives some sort of useable information to potential RV Owners!
You need to tour a few RV Manufacturing plants in Indiana, visit dealers and take a deep, long look at craftsmanship and quality, a few companies like Jayco, KZ RV and Starcraft (owned by Jayco), and the Heartland Landmark have 2 year warranties.
Just in my opinion for what it's worth..I like Jayco RV's and have had 7 of them. I also like KZ, Heartland, Open Range..who all seem to try much harder to please the customers consistantly. But Keystone and Forest River turn out some outstanding great value brands too!
Research is part of the fun in buying a new RV! Have fun researching!
